The present invention is directed toward nanostructures, and, more particularly, toward fabrication of nanofluidic structures.
A nanofluidic structure is defined herein as a structure for the study, manipulation and control of fluids physically confined to passages between 1 to 100 nm along at least one dimension (e.g., length, width, and/or height). Fluids physically constrained to such size dimensions have been shown to exhibit new properties not observed in larger dimensions. Such properties include viscosity, thermodynamic and chemical reactivity properties. Thus, the ability to fabricate and utilize nanofluidic structures is important in investigating characteristics of fluids confided to nanometer dimensions.
A lab-on-a-chip (LOC) can help investigate nanofluidic characteristics. A LOC typically integrates fluid manipulation structures with laboratory circuitry fabricated on a chip. Typically, a LOC includes transistors to amplify electrical signals in a circuit. One type of transistor that helps reduce leakage current and overcome other short-channel effects is a Fin Field Effect Transistor (FinFET). A FinFET is a multiple gate field-effect transistor with conducting channels wrapped by a thin silicon “fin” at the transistor's gate.